Saturday, December 21, 2013

Islanders 5, Rangers 3: Wrapping up

If the team’s expected best players are not going to play to that expected level, this Rangers team, as currently constituted, does not have enough overall depth/talent to compensate.

And so you get 5-3 losses to the Islanders, who are spirited, opportunistic and have some fast skaters, plus John Tavares, who might be the best player in the NHL that is not recognized as such an elite talent yet who came into tonight on a 1-9-4 slide, off their worst defeat of the season when the Lightning rallied for two goals in the final 2:53 of regulation - including the equalizer with 3.9 seconds left - in a 3-2 overtime loss and had not won in regulation since Nov. 12.

Henrik Lundqvist allowed four goals on 19 shot, even if one of the goals was a penalty shot (shorthanded) and another came on a shorthanded breakaway.Rick Nash had an assist but otherwise played a fairly invisible 19:05 with three shots and has just one goal on this 1-4-2 homestand. Brad Richards played 18:44 after being demoted to the third line left wing to start the game with two shots. Derek Stepan, who’s centering the top line and scored a power-play goal but was still a minus-2, it’s just a long list of underperformers.

But it starts with Lundqvist and Nash at this point. Particularly on the power play (2 for 7 with nine shots, two shorthanded goals against and an 0-for-3 in the third period, including a four-on-three, when the Rangers desperately needed a goal), Nash needs to make more of an impact. Tonight, he was positioned down by the crease, a position Chris Kreider had been filling recently on the first unit. With Nash’s big frame, he should have menaced Evgeni Nabokov.

In previous seasons, Lundqvist repeatedly bailed that Rangers out for 2-1 or 1-0 or 2-0 or 3-2 victories. He’s no longer routinely making the game-turning or game-saving save. And since the Rangers cannot generate any offensive consistency, this model is not a working one right now.

Also, on a personal note, you’re going to have to get through these next three games (Sunday vs. Wild, Monday vs. Maple Leafs and Friday at Washington without me. I’m leaving first thing Saturday morning on a holiday vacation with the wife and daughters and will catch up with the team when it gets to Tampa after facing the Capitals. By then, who knows what the state of the team will be.

“We’ve got to figure out what we did right and what we did wrong,” Dan Girardi said. “We got two more at home and salvage it.”

Problem is, it’s no longer about salvaging this homestand. As I wrote in the newspaper and on the blog before the homestand started, this nine-game stretch had the potential to be a turning point in the season, either good or bad. Obviously, it’s taken a turn toward the latter. So now, it’s about salvaging the second half of the season, it’s about finally playing consistent hockey. It has to start with Lundqvist and Nash but everybody is accountable here, including the coach.

Alain Vigneault needs to start holding his players more accountable for the dreck they’re inflicting upon their fans and people who appreciate well played hockey.

Neither the Islanders nor the Rangers played a particularly smart or crisp game. It was entertaining because it went back and forth. But it was sloppy and some of the penalties taken were just dumb. And so were some of the calls tonight. No consistency in the officiating and the penalty shot Cal Clutterbuck was awarded for Ryan McDonagh’s hooking penalty on his breakaway was a phantom call. McDonagh backchecked and did get his stick engaged. But it wasn’t worthy of a penalty shot.
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To his credit, Lundqvist did not shy away from calling a bad outing a bad outing, though he did several times refer to the mistakes made that led to the breakaways against him.

“This is definitely a frustrating game, there’s no question we beat ourselves,” Lundqvist said. “We made some simple mistakes and I was not there to clean it up in the first. We didn’t give up much but they had a few chances and as a goalie you try to battle and be there to make those saves for us to stay confident. But I wasn’t able to come up with the saves in the first and it kind of set the tone for the whole game. I thought we were the better team. They just hurt us on the mistakes we made. Mistakes can happen, it’s part of the game but I wish I could have been better, especially in the first. It was two good shots but it kind of set the tone for the whole game.

“I was shocked that it was called a penalty shot. When you think about the calls the last few weeks, we’re just in that slump where things go against us a little bit. But there’s no point of thinking too much about it. You have to just keep moving on and working hard. I was really shocked that they called that a penalty shot. It was an important first period. A couple of plays where they made some good moves.”

A breakaway shorthanded goal and a penalty shot actually wasn’t the worst. That would be Brain Strait’s slap shot to tie the game at 3 at 11:26 of the second period that Lundqvist seemed to have a chance to get a good look at, though he said he was late tracking the puck. The puck dribbled between Lundqvist’s pad and glove.

“I just have to fight harder to see the puck, I picked it up too late,” he said. “I was reading where it was going and it squeezed through my arm and leg. It felt like they didn’t have much, I made some good saves, in the end they had four goals on 19 shots. That could be better. Special teams was the difference tonight, both ways. We definitely had a chance to get momentum with a big goal but we didn’t.”

As for regaining his confidence, Lundqvist said it’s not about having one good game (and it’s more than likely Cam Talbot will start one of these next two games):

“It’s a process,” he said. “You just have to keep doing the right things. You’re not going to turn around the season in one night. This is a game where you’re going to go out and feel good about your game, when you’re facing breakaways and no shots really, there was not a lot of pucks in my end. To feel good about my game is tough but that’s where I have to be better mentally to really focus in and make bigger saves even though there are some clear scoring chances. It’s a challenge for a goalie, that’s my job to clean up for mistakes and it’s not enough tonight.

Nash did not strike as personal a tone in his remarks. He talked more of a big picture in terms of what the Rangers need to do as a group to improve.

“We’ve got to work harder, we’ve got to be better on power plays and special teams and work for our opportunities,” Nash said. “Especially when you get that many power plays, you’ve got to be better. We’ve got to work at getting shots through better. The last couple of games we’ve been having too many shots blocked against us. A couple of bad bounces there on the penalty shot and a tough play on the other one. It happens, that’s hockey, we’ve got to step up on special teams.

“I think when you outwork teams you find the bounces start going your way,” Nash added. “When you get outworked that’s when they seem to go against you. So you’ve got to work for your own luck, you’ve got to work for your bounces.

“No, we couldn’t imagine it,” Nash said of starting the homestand 1-4-2. “But it’s reality now and we’ve got to deal with it and move on and try to get these next couple of games to finish up the homestand. There’s a sense of urgency probably five games ago, six games ago. We’ve got to playing a lot more desperate to win games. I think as a player you always have pressure on yourself to perform. As a leader, the leadership group it’s important in times like this you step up and lead. We’ve got to turn this around.”

Vigneault said he did not believe the team’s confidence “was an issue at all. I thought, five on five, we played a real solid game.

Vigneault said he did not ask for an explanation on McDonagh’s hooking call that led to the penalty shot, though it appeared he was incredulous at the call on the bench.

And he did not use his post-game comments to take a swipe at his underperforming franchise goalie.

“Those are Grade A chances and I’m sure he tried the best he could,” Vigneault said. “He couldn’t make the save.”

Girardi, too, would not characterize the game as a bad one for the Rangers, though he obviously said it wasn’t a very good one.

“It’s tough when you give up a couple of breakaways, actually three, on your power play,” Girardi said. “We know they’ve got some speedy guys but we’ve got to figure out how to make a play and hold the puck and not generate breakaways off that. That’s going to put you behind the eight-ball right away, giving up breakaways. That wasn’t the game plan going in. I thought after the first, our five on five play was good, we were controlling the play. They got their power play was clicking a little bit, they got that five on three goal but it wasn’t like a bad game but little costly mistakes. They make us pay for them. They’re known for that, they’re a very opportunistic team and they’ve got highly skilled guys who can make plays when need be. It’s tough for us there but I thought we showed some good resilience getting that power play goal by Step, kind of bouncing back and getting chances on the power play. It wasn’t a great game, it wasn’t a bad game but it’s not where we need to be to string some wins together before finishing up before Christmas.

“It’s got to be a little bit of everything,” Girardi added when asked the overriding emotion in the Rangers’ room right now. “Guys want to win, guys want to do the right thing. It’s not for a lack of effort, we’re trying to do the right thing. But a little thing here a little thing is costing us. We want to win and get the job done but after a tough one like this it’s frustrating and disappointing.”

No practice for the Rangers tomorrow prior to their back-to-back games.

Again, have a wonderful holiday week and thanks for being a part of this blog, it’s a pleasure to be able to present it to you, the readers.

Lastly, from the Rangers:

- The Blueshirts had nine different players register a point in the contest. The Rangers have scored nine goals in the last three games, with seven different goal-scorers over the span. Derek Stepan and Carl Hagelin have tallied two goals apiece during the stretch.

- Benoit Pouliot notched a power play goal and three shots in 16:59 of ice time. He has now tallied five points (two goals, three assists) in his last seven games, including two goals in his last five.

- Derek Dorsett tallied a goal, two shots, and was credited with two hits in 9:43 of ice time. He has now registered three points (one goal, two assists) in five career games against the Islanders.

- Derek Stepan recorded a power play goal and two shots in 19:22 of ice time. He has notched three points (two goals, one assist) in the last three games, and now leads the team with 11 power play points (two goals, nine assists) on the season.

- Henrik Lundqvist stopped 15 of 19 shots faced, while making his 538th career appearance. He has posted a record of 10-15-2 overall, including a 5-9-2 mark at home this season. Lundqvist passed Ed Giacomin for third on the Rangers all-time goaltender appearance list.

- Mats Zuccarello established a career-high with his 24th point of the season, a power play assist, and registered three shots and two hits in 20:00 of ice time. He has recorded a point in nine of the last 14 games, registering five multi-point performances and 14 points (five goals, nine assists) during the stretch. Zuccarello leads the team in scoring with 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in the last 28 games since his healthy scratch on Oct. 24 at Philadelphia.

- Rick Nash recorded a power play assist and three shots in 19:05 of ice time. He has now tallied nine points (five goals, four assists) in the last 12 games.

- Chris Kreider registered a power play assist and was credited with two hits in 12:42 of ice time. He has now recorded two points (one goal, one assist) in the last three games.

- Derick Brassard tallied a power play assist and won 5-9 faceoffs (56%) in 13:51 of ice time. He has tallied five of his last seven points while on the power play (two goals, three assists), and ranks third on the team with nine power play points (four goals, five assists) on the season. Brassard is now four points shy of his 200th career NHL point.

- Dominic Moore recorded an assist and logged 10:57 of ice time. He has tallied three points (one goal, two assists) in the last four games.

- Anton Stralman registered an assist and was credited with three hits in 19:35 of ice time. He has recorded nine assists in 19 career games against the Islanders.

Posted by Andrew Gross on 12/21 at 07:14 AM

time for the coach to be held accountable. he’s the one who decides the goalie, and the game plan. he’s failing.

Posted by bklynblue on 12/21 at 08:46 AM

Posted by bklynblue on 12/21 at 02:46 AM

please tell me when the gm and his draft people become accountable. 13-14 years of misery isn’t enough

Posted by JJ on 12/21 at 09:49 AM

I am all for pointing a finger at the management and ownership as this nonsense has been going on since 1996 when rather than restock the Ranger farm system, Neil Smith tried to buy another cup setting in motion a disease that has sucked all the money out of the pockets of Ranger fans.

Whether it is Nash, Drury, Richards, Gaborik or any other overpriced player; I just wish someone would explain why talented players can produce everywhere else but put on the Ranger jersey and they turn into the latest version of Barry Beck?

Posted by Jess on 12/21 at 12:25 PM

Enjoy the time off Andrew.

Posted by Matt G on 12/21 at 02:23 PM

“It’s not for lack of effort” - Girardi

Then why is every other team beating the Rangers to loose pucks, hustling, hitting and making the Rangers (and especialy Nash and the defense)look like they ar moving in slow motion?

Posted by EddieO on 12/21 at 04:58 PM

Whether you liked Torts or not, this team would not be sucking this bad if he was still here.

You know it, I know it…

Either AV wakes up and starts coaching or let him go. Be a coach and find a systsem that works for the team you have. If he can’t, or won’t, then cut your losses and get him out of here.

Laviolette is still available, right?

Posted by chrisqct on 12/21 at 05:37 PM

Buyout Dick Nash, that guy sucks a lot of Richards

Posted by Alex Besos on 12/21 at 06:12 PM

Look again at the number of hits in those player stats that Andrew posted above. 2 hits, 3 hits… WHAT????? That’s just good ol’ plain SOFT HOCKEY and there’s no excuse for that. Most often the Rangers don’t finish their checks when they have the chance. Over the course of a game, the opponents are NOT worn down, not intimidated, not sore, not scared to go in the corners and not scared to do what they want in the crease. This team needs some real hockey players. I’m tired of the no-touch, Mr. Softee NYR hockey. There better be a fire sale by the deadline. Otherwise, this team is going NOWHERE.

Posted by PG67 on 12/21 at 06:20 PM

Posted by Jess on 12/21 at 06:25 AM

can you explain all the misses in drafts.

a few for starters - despite what cj says

jessiman
sanguinetti
montoya
del zotto
blackburn

and under tail end of smith

brendl
lundmark

teams that can;t draft are destined for so-so results - at best

nash - 2 concussions - we didn’t give up much for him

drury - 2 good seasons before body gave out

richards - 2 good yrs out of 3. league changed rules after the contract which makes contract more burdensome going forward

gabby - 2 40 goal seasons out of 3 1/2 yrs here

if a home groan had those numbers .................

Posted by chrisqct on 12/21 at 11:37 AM

look at how much they sucked against bost in playoffs last yr and the devs the yr before. plenty of blemishes on torts resume here

of course the elephant in the room is the sather/clark drafts

how many coaches does sather get to fire. the sather error must end now

Posted by PG67 on 12/21 at 12:20 PM

they are going nowhere and a good amount of that fire sale has nobody interested in them.

of course until sather and his draft people are gone we’re in for hurting times ahead

Posted by JJ on 12/21 at 06:49 PM

Talk about cherry picking, all you can do is complain about 2 series losses in the last 2 years (and not the 3 series wins and the super regular season 2 years ago)—- so basically only a SC would absolve management in your eyes.

Blackburn was NOT a mistake, give it up JJ. Teenage goalie on bad defensive team thrust into duty too early, stricken with debilitating nerve damage injury. His future looked pretty bright.

MDZ, whatever you say, he’s still young and has 250+ NHL games under his belt. He isn’t a failure, just not what WE need or want.

Montoya, a decent backup goalie ... yes, selected too early for what he brings but to label him a failure like Jessiman is really stretching the definition of failure.

Now to Richards, 1 decent season, 1 bad season ... this season? TBD. Started off strong, but what has been doing since then? Where’s the leadership he was suppose to provide?

Posted by CJ on 12/21 at 07:11 PM

I’d much rather take the sting of a Playoff loss, than not making the Playoffs at all. And it’s not looking like AV is going to take these guys to the Playoffs. And don’t overlook the fact that AV’s Canucks got pushed around by the Burins as well.

He’s brought softness and goaltending issues here from Vancouver. And Arniel and a good chunk of our roster has brought the uninspired ineptness that was part of The Blue Jackets culture.

Posted by chrisqct on 12/21 at 07:48 PM

Posted by CJ on 12/21 at 01:11 PM

wrong as usual.they weren’t just series losses we were destroyed in those series (the only 2 games we won vs nj henrik totally stole. you know henrik the guy you’ve now turned in your role as sather/torts apologist/shill. and boston totally wiped us out

i had plenty of other issues with torts but the list would be a lengthy one.

richards close to a pt /game in last 11 games or so. your biases shine bright when you defend the horrible picks and the sather error.

Posted by chrisqct on 12/21 at 01:48 PM

feel free to go revisionist history on torts. av’s canucks were a ton closer than the rangers were to the bruins. but don;t let torts bias get in the way

waiting until you and cj and other torts apologists see who the real problem is - sather and his draft boys

yeah lets fire another coach thats the ticket

Posted by JJ on 12/21 at 08:09 PM

Absolutely pathetic performance by the Rangers!

You’re about to checked by an opponent, so rather than get rid of the puck, you skate over to a teammate, with the opponent two feet away, then you decide to pass it. The opponent takes it away the puck, and is on a breakaway, with both Rangers now out of position for a short-handed goal. Not content that someone may have missed the first blunder, they want to make certain that everybody gets to see them do it again.
The coach sits nobody, because he’s impressed at how well they’re able to play, even if, it benefits the opposition.

and he dumped biron after 1 start and 1 relief appearance in a game the rangers were getting killed

Posted by JJ on 12/21 at 08:32 PM

This team is pathetic from the top down. It starts with the owner James “Thanks Dad” Dolan, then continues through the front office with GM & President for Life Glenn “OOOH Look at that Washed Up Player, I Need Him on Our Team” Sather, onto the clueless coach Alain “Je pensais qu’ils palyed bien 5 sur 5” Vigneault and finally the players who need lots of days off since they are clearly exhausted from all the MSG charity work they do.

As for specific players, Na$h and Richard$ should be ashamed of themselves when a guy like Pouliot is willing to work harder than they do. Na$h in particular looks like he’s saving himself for something other than the NHL season, like the Olympics.

Lundqvi$t looks totally lost. It’s not the equipment either. It looks to me like he’s not “seeing” the puck until its on top of him and he can’t react quickly enough to stop it.

Simply put if the team isn’t motivated to beat an Islander team that hadn’t won regulation since Nov 12, I can’t wait to see them mail it in on Sunday against the Wild and then Monday against the Leafs.

Posted by Rich on 12/21 at 08:44 PM

Posted by Rich on 12/21 at 02:44 PM

missing the boat. its on sather / clark and poor drafting. need a whole new crew of scouts.

$tepan, del zotto, miller are just some of the meh home groan we trot out there

combined with multiple concussions for nash and staal and all the cally injuries

fire sather - and if he is maybe a poster will promise to leave and actually do it this time

Sick and tired of all the JJ whining about the draft. Fact is, the draft is less than 20% of our problems.

The real problem is Sather’s lousy free agent signings…

Redden…
Drury…
Gomez…
Holik…
Kasparitis…
Brashear…
Richards…
Nash…

And no, JJ, the Rangers did not give up “nothing” for Nash. They gave up two excellent role players, one of whom was a team leader and now is an assistant captain.

BRANDON DUBINSKY

Get over it JJ and get over yourself!

Posted by EddieO on 12/21 at 10:25 PM

Posted by JJ on 12/21 at 02:57 PM

I included your favorite GM. You’re not happy because I didn’t say Glenn “What’s a Good Draft Pick Look Like Anyway” Sather? Unlike you I don’t expect every 1st rounder to become a 1st line player or a 1st pair defenseman, but I would like them to have a NHL career that’s more than as a part time player or 5 teams in 3 years.

Frankly it doesn’t matter to most of us who want Sather gone which complaint you start with, his poor drafting or his poor UFA signings. Heaven knows there have been plenty examples of both.

Posted by Rich on 12/21 at 10:44 PM

Tell you how we lost those 2 series JJ and it wasn’t because the team got destroyed in either or both. Both those teams had kick arse 4th lines that were very very very productive—- and maybe not all the time, but in those series they were. Plus a rookie d’man who played 5 out of his mind games, for whatever reason.

Posted by CJ on 12/21 at 10:45 PM

Of course, Nash was not a free agent signing, but a trade in which we gave up two key grinders and role players.

Just fed up with JJ and his know it all attitude that attacks others and gives himself a free pass.

Posted by EddieO on 12/21 at 11:09 PM

EddieO,

JJ doesn’t mean much by it. It’s the sauce.

Let’s Go Rangers! JJ’s grating time is almost up here (just like at that other blog)!

Posted by meccaleccahimeccahineyho on 12/21 at 11:21 PM

Posted by EddieO on 12/21 at 04:25 PM
Posted by EddieO on 12/21 at 05:09 PM

completely disagree with everything you just posted

you are so dead wrong on dubin$ky. what did he do the last 2 1/2 yrs before this one eddie zero? hm?

agree with you on redden, brashear and holik (no cap for him though)

gomez 2 solid yrs and we now have mcd for him eddie zero.

drury 2 good yrs before his body gave out

richards 2 good yrs out of 3 and owners changed rules after the fact retroactively

nash 2 concussions. again we gave up nothing for him except the 1st rd picks. the players were meh on their best days

sorry eddie zero - but i see 2 bad posts by you plus a personal attack. i will reply in kind to people with attitudes like you buy whatever names you post under. keep up the whining you’re good at it.

of course give sather and his draft people a free pass. are you sure you’re not cj

Posted by JJ on 12/21 at 11:24 PM

Posted by Rich on 12/21 at 04:44 PM

way more examples of poor picks. and the ufas have for most part had good years too. example gomez was good here 2 yrs. after he left here montreal had the problems with his bad performance.

and one example. take out jessiman and put in parise. that’s 1 less ufa signed here. see how it works draft better and you’ll not have to overpay in ufa mkt in yrs and salary

but sather/clark = epic fail

Posted by CJ on 12/21 at 04:45 PM

delusional again. watch the tapes. we were outplayed in a huge way. more so last yr but the devs series was 70-30 boston was over 9-10

Posted by meccaleccahimeccahineyho on 12/21 at 05:21 PM

so is eddie zero now one of your handles.

in any case stop stalking and lets meet face to face. we have a history to um “discuss”

About

ANDREW GROSS covers the New York Rangers for The Record and Herald News, having joined the North Jersey Media Group in November 2007. Gross also covered the Rangers and New York Jets, as well as St. John’s basketball and Army football, for Gannett Newspapers and The Journal News (N.Y.). He graduated from Syracuse University in 1989 with a degree in newspaper journalism.